


Peggy on Ice

by chasingkerouac



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Ice Skating, Steggy Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-20 02:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22074949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingkerouac/pseuds/chasingkerouac
Summary: Peggy Carter is good at so many things.  Ice skating is not one of them.
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 14
Kudos: 72





	Peggy on Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NEStar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEStar/gifts).



> Part of the Steggy Secret Santa 2019. It's not exactly what you asked for, but I hope that you enjoy a moment of fluff and light-hearted winter fun.

“Peggy, you have to come out onto the ice eventually.”

Peggy clutched the low wall of the rink in what her mother would term a ‘grossly undignified manner’, but her mother wasn’t here right now and the promise of bodily injury was overwhelming any desire to look dignified in front of Steve. 

Steve, who was skating - no,  _ gliding _ \- in a wide circle as he spoke. Steve, who looked completely comfortable on the ice. Steve, whose idea for a ‘fun and flirty outside date’ was to court bodily injury on a frozen sheet of death.

“No I don’t,” she replied, locking her knees to hopefully prevent any surprise movement by her feet as a group of overeager ten-year-olds pushed past her through the door. “I put on the skates. I’m technically out here. Why don’t you come back over here and hang out by the wall?”

Steve grinned warmly as he made his way back over to the wall. “I’m sorry, Peg,” he said, unable to hide the amusement in his voice. He wrapped an arm around her waist to give her another point of support. “I just assumed you knew how to skate when I suggested this.”

“Why would you assume that?”

“Well, you’re usually so talented at everything you do, I just assumed…”

Peggy glanced up at him, and momentarily let herself lean more against him than the wall. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“It usually gets me at least somewhere.”

“Steve!” she laughed.

“You also didn’t say anything until you had one foot on the ice,” he pointed out.

He got her there. “Well… I… figured I might magically figure out how to do it once we got here…” she trailed off, realizing how ridiculous it sounded as soon as she said it. “Since I’m usually so good at everything.”

“Usually.”

Peggy took a deep breath. This was ridiculous. There were literally children skating rings around them. There was no reason why she couldn’t conquer this death trap as well. She straightened up and wrapped her own arm around Steve’s waist - although her left hand stayed firmly gripping the wall. “Ice is one of those things that smart people usually avoid. There are signs and PSAs and elder alerts about it everywhere.”

“Do you trust me?” Steve asked.

“I’m not sure that I like where this is going.”

“Do you trust me?”

“We could go get a drink instead,” she suggested. “Something warm. Or grab some dinner. That would also be warm and have a lower risk of death than being out here and expecting to stand on what seem to be larger versions of those metal tracks that help drawers go in and out.”

“What?”

“Or, I could warm you up in… other ways?” she tried. “You know I’m very good at it. I could even wear the -”

“Peggy,” he interrupted. 

She sighed, trying to put on her best contrite expression as she looked up at him through her lashes. “Yes, darling?”

“Do you trust me?” he asked softly.

There was obviously no way of getting out of this. “Of course I do.”

He placed a light kiss on her forehead and turned them both so that her back was to the wall. He unwrapped his arm from her waist and offered both hands to her. “You have to let go of the wall eventually.”

“I’m going to end up black and blue,” she murmured, letting go of her death grip on the wall and placing her hands in Steve’s. 

“Okay, push off gently outwards, one foot then the other,” Steve instructed. He pulled her ever so slightly forward as she pushed off for the first time. “We’re going to do this slowly. There we go,” he murmured. “Easy does it.”

Peggy, for her part, tried to follow the instructions. She also tried not to grip Steve’s hands so hard that his knuckles turned white. 

She was marginally successful at both.

She also tried not to think about the group of ten-year-olds who pushed past her at the wall, and who were now skating circles around them while pointing and laughing at her. At least, that’s what she assumed they were doing. She didn’t turn her head to look up at them as they passed. 

“Peggy, you can look up at any point,” Steve said.

“That’s easy for you to say.” She forced herself to look up from her skates and into Steve’s big, blue eyes. “You’re not the one who’s just moments away from skating into a rock, or another person, or… what’s the thing that cleans the ice?”

“A zamboni?”

“Right. You’re not the one that’s about to skate right into a zamboni.”

Steve just laughed. “Well, I’m going backwards, so if anyone’s about to accidentally skate into a zamboni, it’s going to be me.”

“Don’t even joke about that!” Peggy insisted, but her tone was too amused to do anything but brighten Steve’s already massive grin. 

“There’s a solution for that.” Steve dropped one of her hands and shifted so that they were skating side-by-side now. “Now we will both be protected from random zambonis jumping out at us.”

“An awfully big assumption,” Peggy laughed. It took her a moment to realize that her grip on Steve’s other hand had loosened once he was beside her, to the point where she almost -  _ almost  _ \- considered dropping it all together. There was a rhythm to skating. One foot pushing each time. One foot in front of the other. She could do this.

She could do this. 

She  _ was doing this! _

Peggy didn’t realize that Steve had dropped his other hand and was no longer holding her up. They were moving together side-by-side, but she was moving on her own power. Slowly, sure, but she wasn’t holding onto the wall and she wasn’t leaning against Steve, and she was conquering this icy death trap by her own power. “Steve! I’m doing it!” she laughed.

“You are,” he replied proudly. “I knew you could. I told you, you’re talented at anything you put your mind -”

They both spoke too soon.

A divot in the ice caused Peggy to lose her footing, and she toppled onto the ice before Steve could reach out and catch her. “Peggy!” he gasped, circling around to retrieve her. “Peggy are you alright?”

Peggy laid there, sprawled on the ice… and started laughing. Steve knelt down beside her, looking so concerned, and all she could do was look up at him and laugh. “Well, I think we can both agree that a gold medal is not in my future.”

“I don’t know,” Steve replied, looking relieved. “Another couple of lessons and I think we could tackle jumps.” He took her hand and helped her back up, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her steady. “Maybe we should take a coffee break.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m getting a little chilly. Figured I could take you up on that offer to find something warmer to do.”

“Oh thank god,” she sighed before grinning. “I mean, only if you’re sure…”

Steve laughed again, and steered them both back toward the door to the rink. “We could go for a drink, or a meal, or I think you were about to suggest -”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she chuckled.

“Will it get you to come back sometime?”

“Don’t push it.”


End file.
